It occurred to Debbie that she had said goodbye to everyone but him. "Just a minute," she muttered quietly to the man inside the car. Before Carlos could protest or ask what was going on, she had shut the car door and was walking towards the young man, who was breathless from all the running.
"Debbie, are you leaving?" he looked at her sadly. From the way he was sulking and the way he looked at her, affection was visible clear as daylight.
"Yes," Debbie replied with a nod. "My... My family has come to pick me up. It was nice meeting you. Keep in touch." Debbie didn't want to break his heart like that and corrected herself.
The young man took out a sachet from his pocket and handed it to her. "I made something for you. It's a silver accessory. I want you to keep it as a souvenir."
Debbie looked at the sachet in surprise. It was meaningful, she knew that. Reflexively, she tried to decline it. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart. But it's a very big gesture and I can't take it."
"It may be worth little, but I will be glad if you take it. It would mean a lot to me."
Debbie didn't know what to say. She was saved by Emmett who walked towards her at this point. "Mrs. Huo, Mr. Huo is waiting. It's time to go," he reminded her with a smile.
'Mrs. Huo?' The young man was surprised and confused. He knew what that form of address meant. "Are you married?" he asked in disbelief.
"Yes, I am," she admitted shortly. "Thank you for taking such great care of me these days. My husband is waiting. I have to go."
The young man watched the woman he had fallen for get in the car, heartbroken.
The fancy cars drove away one after another. From the rearview mirror, Debbie could see him standing there alone. She felt sad to see him so heartbroken.
She had only stayed in the village for a couple of days, but the villagers had been so nice to her, and the village head's family deserved a special mention. It was unfair that the young man had to face such heartbreak even after being so nice to her.
"Feeling sad?" a cold voice asked, breaking into her thoughts.
"Yes," she admitted succinctly. Humans were sensitive. It was normal to feel sad on occasions like this.
"Do you want to stay and be the village head's daughter-in-law?"
Carlos asked coldly. Debbie turned towards him in surprise.
His face was grim. 'Damn! What did I do wrong in saying goodbye? I didn't even encourage him.
What's he sulking about now?' she thought.
Pondering over what he had just said, she slid closer to him and asked, "Are you jealous? Huh?"
Seen through, Carlos tried to save face with a poker expression. "Sit back," he demanded, though it was clear he didn't mean it.
She refused to obey. Pressing her cheek against his arm, she asked while fluttering her long eyelashes, "You didn't react much on seeing me. Did you really come here to see me or what?"
The road was bumpy, but sitting in Carlos' car, Debbie could barely feel it. It was much better than riding a minibus.
The next moment, the interior screen was rolled up so that the passengers could have some privacy. Confused, Debbie was about to ask what was going on when her face was lifted up gently. "Do you want me to react?" Carlos asked meaningfully.
Looking into his eyes, she regretted saying that. "No, no. I—" She wanted to say this was not what she had meant.
But actually, she wanted to kiss him too.
Inside the Bentley behind the Emperor, Jared was sitting with an expression on his face that was as annoyed as if he had just eaten a dead fly. It was all because of the woman sitting next to him—Gail.
He couldn't help suspecting that Carlos had made this arrangement on purpose. Although every student unfamiliar to Debbie was sharing a car with others in groups of two or three, whoever was connected with Debbie was given a separate car. Dixon, Gus, even Gregory were enjoying a car alone. Only Jared had to share a car with someone. And to make matters worse, that someone had to be Gail!
The most irritating part was that there were no passengers in the two Bentleys behind them and Gail could have been thrown in any of those two.
Carlos must have done this to torture him!
Jared felt that it was so unfair. He had had to accompany Carlos' wife to the remote, backward village and this was what he had gotten in return. Life was so unfair, especially to men.
"Jared, do you know what Debbie's relationship with Emmett is?" Gail asked, even though she had anticipated that most likely, Jared wouldn't tell her anything even if he did know something.
"I don't know."
"Is she sitting in the same car with Carlos?"
"Go see for yourself."
"What is she to Hayden?"
"Can you just shut up? Or I'll kick you out of the car." Jared was fed up with her questions and couldn't take it anymore. Gail gritted her teeth resentfully but finally had to shut up.
Since it was nightfall, the cars stopped in an urban district on the way. They would spend the night there.
Even in such a simple area, Carlos was famous. As soon as the black Emperor pulled up in front of the fancy hotel, the manager himself came out of the hotel with some foremen.
Emmett got out first and opened the back door for the passengers inside. As soon as people caught a glimpse of their distinguished guest, they all began trying to please him. "Good evening, Mr. huo! Welcome to our hotel, Mr. Huo!"
Carlos merely nodded to the barrage of pleasantries and held out his right hand towards the car. A woman closely wrapped in a purple down jacket emerged from the car. She had completely wrapped herself and only her eyes could be seen. Her big eyes looked around curiously.
She then took Carlos' hand and jumped out of the car.
The employees of the hotel couldn't believe their eyes. They had received countless upper-class females.
But never had they seen anyone so unique. What shocked them more was that when the two were about to enter the hotel, Carlos pulled the woman into his arms, as if to tell everyone that the woman was his and his only.
'Is this the woman in the rumors?' they wondered.
Carlos had always told Debbie that they would keep a low-key profile, but anywhere Carlos went, it was never low-key.
Right now only, five men had greeted them by the car alone. And another ten were standing in two lines in front of the door.
Debbie was glad that she had covered her face with her hat and scarf, even though Carlos was against it. She didn't want to expose her face. Anyone could have snapped a picture and posted it online. Then the whole world would know.
Two managers led the way to their Presidential Suite. In the elevator, Carlos was still holding her tightly.
Since they were not alone, Debbie felt embarrassed to be intimate. She tried to pry his hand away, but Carlos wouldn't let her get his hand off her. With two hotel managers and Emmett beside them and two bodyguards behind them, Debbie tried her best to keep the interaction between them inconspicuous.
However, Emmett noticed it and gave her a knowing smile, making her blush a deep crimson behind the scarf.
Soon, the modern elevator reached its destination and the managers themselves opened their suite for them. The bodyguards stopped the managers and the waiters from going inside.
They themselves positioned on either side of the door. Once Carlos and Debbie had stepped inside their suite, Emmett closed the door and with a click, the self-locking door was closed. "Thank you, Mr. Yue. I think right now what Mr. Huo needs is some privacy. Are the other rooms all set?" he asked one of the managers.